Themes: Political Corruption, Conspiracies, Assassination Plots
Main Cast: Wesley Snipes, Anne Archer, Maury Chaykin, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Donald Sutherland, Michael Biehn
Release Year: 2000
Country: US
Run Time: 117 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A spy who has convinced much of the world he doesn't exist now must prove that he does in order to save thousands of lives in this thriller. After the assassination of Wu (James Hong), China's ambassador to the United Nations, in the midst of negotiations on a trade pact, FBI agent Neil Shaw (Wesley Snipes) is assigned to ferret out the killer by his superior, Eleanor Hooks (Anne Archer). But Shaw soon discovers that he's now considered a key suspect in the murder, and is the subject of a manhunt. Shaw's ability to cover his tracks, and his network of similarly "invisible" agents, makes him a hard man to track down. But when Shaw learns that the real killers not only plan to strike again but intend to take out most of the U.N. in the process, he swings into action to prevent the attack and clear his name; Shaw is thrown into a partnership with Julia (Marie Matiko), a U.N. interpreter who witnessed Wu's murder and may be able to trace a recording of the crime. The Art of War co-stars Michael Biehn as Bly, one of Shaw's associates, and Donald Sutherland as the Secretary General of the United Nations. The film was originally written as a vehicle of Hong Kong action star Jet Li before Snipes stepped in as both star and executive producer. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Marie Matiko - Julia; Liliana Komorowska - Novak; James Hong - Ambassador Wu
Credit
Jean Morin - Art Director, Pierre Perrault - Art Director, Alan Chu - Associate Producer, Vera Miller - Casting, Nadia Rona - Casting, Rosina Bucci - Casting, Elite Productions - Casting, Don Carmody - Co-producer, Richard Lalonde - Co-producer, Odette Gadoury - Costume Designer, Michael Williams - First Assistant Director, Christian Duguay - Director, Michel Arcand - Editor, Wesley Snipes - Executive Producer, Dan Halsted - Executive Producer, Elie Samaha - Executive Producer, Jeff Ward - Fights Choreographer, Normand Corbeil - Composer (Music Score), David Franco - Musical Direction/Supervision, Anne Pritchard - Production Designer, Pierre Gill - Cinematographer, Nicolas Clermont - Producer, Oliver Stone - Producer, Ginette Robitaille - Set Designer, Les Productions de L'intrigue - Special Effects, Don Cohen - Sound/Sound Designer, Hans Peter Strobl - Sound/Sound Designer, Bernard Gariepy Strobl - Sound/Sound Designer, Jocelyn Caron - Sound/Sound Designer, Marc Gagnon - Sound/Sound Designer, Michel B. Bordeleau - Sound Editor, Pierre-Jules Audet - Sound Editor, Jérôme Décarie - Sound Editor, Nathalie Fleurant - Sound Editor, Michael Scherer - Stunts Coordinator, Georges Jardon - Special Effects Supervisor, Pierre Raymond - Special Effects Supervisor, Wayne Beach - Screen Story, Wayne Beach - Screenwriter, Simon Barry - Screenwriter, Georges Jardon - Visual Effects Supervisor, Pierre Raymond - Visual Effects Supervisor, Louis Craig - Special Effects Coordinator, Ginette Robitaille - Set Decorator
Neil Shaw is an operative for the United Nations' covert dirty-tricks squad, using espionage and quasi-ethical tactics to secure peace and cooperation. When a shipping container full of dead Vietnamese refugees turns up on the docks and China's ambassador is gunned down at a dinner celebrating a new trade agreement with China and the U.S., Shaw is framed for the murder and must evade the FBI and Triad gangsters to find out what is really going on.
A straight-to-DVD sequel came out in August 2008. Wesley Snipes reprises his role as Neil Shaw. Athena Karkanis and Lochlyn Munro also star in the movie. In the sequel, Agent Neil Shaw is called out of retirement as a Hollywood film consultant by the murder of his long-time martial arts mentor, "Mother."
